Photo by Ben Rayner
Just about a year ago, Parquet Courts were just another band–albeit a great one–outta Brooklyn (via Denton) pluggin’ away. But that changed preeeeeettty quick. Their second full-length Light Up Gold became an overwhelming critical gem. The record put them smackdab in the middle of the modern-rock map. Their over-caffeinated, smarty-pants, art-rock jams enchanted music journos from the folks at NPR to The New York Times to (ahem) us. It recalls punk’s downtown New York birth and its rebirth as noisy college rock in the 80s and 90s. They lit up SXSW this year, and now they’re back in Austin to play ACL Fest 2013.
Parquet Courts are guitarists and songwriters Andrew Savage and Austin Brown, bassist Sean Yeaton, and Andrew’s brother Max on drums. Savage and Brown met in Denton and began writing songs together. They brought on the rest of the band, and moved from the Lone Star State to the Empire State. They released their cassette-only debut American Specialties in 2011.
Next week Parquet Courts return with a new EP called Tally All The Things That You Broke. It opens with the quick blast of “You’ve Got Me Wonderin Now.” At just two-and-a-half minutes, it gets the job done quickly. Savage barks his lyrics over that jittery Parquet Courts assault that made them so good to begin with. Their sound hasn’t radically shifted since Light Up Gold, but there are hints that the sudden notoriety hasn’t just opened up some professional opportunities, but sonic ones as well. A little recorder flutophone line plays throughout, and it adds a bit of playfulness to the song. It ends in a cacophonous rumble that builds and builds until it stops on a dime. There’s tension. It gets the blood up. And it only signals good things to come for Parquet Courts.
You can catch Parquet Courts at ACL Fest 2013:
